Pharmacological evaluation of Euphorbia hirta, Fagonia indica and Capparis decidua in hypertension through in-vivo and in vitro-assays

Diuretic activity of Euphorbia serpens extracts in Wistar rats

Euphorbia serpens has been used in central-west region of Argentina in traditional medicine as diuretic plant. The aim of this present study was to evaluate the diuretic activity of E. serpens in-vivo. We used dried aerial parts, and infusions from these were orally administered to Wistar rats. Its effect was evaluated using furosemide as a positive drug and isotonic salt solution as negative control. Their urine output was quantified at several time intervals. The volume of urine excreted and Na+ increased significantly, being similar to furosemide. Mannitol, was the main component in aqueous extracts of E. serpens, and the acetone extract showed the presence of Δ12- oleanane-type triterpenoids compounds, mainly hederagenin. No toxic effects were observed.

Natural Substances vs. Approved Drugs in the Treatment of Main Cardiovascular Disorders-Is There a Breakthrough?

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of diseases with a very high rate of morbidity and mortality. The clinical presentation of CVDs can vary from asymptomatic to classic symptoms such as chest pain in patients with myocardial infarction. Current therapeutics for CVDs mainly target disease symptoms. The most common CVDs are coronary artery disease, acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, chronic heart failure, arterial hypertension, and valvular heart disease. In their treatment, conventional therapies and pharmacological therapies are used. However, the use of herbal medicines in the therapy of these diseases has also been reported in the literature, resulting in a need for critical evaluation of advances related to their use. Therefore, we carried out a narrative review of pharmacological and herbal therapeutic effects reported for these diseases. Data for this comprehensive review were obtained from electronic databases such as MedLine, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Conventional therapy requires an individual approach to the patients, as when patients do not respond well, this often causes allergic effects or various other unwanted effects. Nowadays, medicinal plants as therapeutics are frequently used in different parts of the world. Preclinical/clinical pharmacology studies have confirmed that some bioactive compounds may have beneficial therapeutic effects in some common CVDs. The natural products analyzed in this review are promising phytochemicals for adjuvant and complementary drug candidates in CVDs pharmacotherapy, and some of them have already been approved by the FDA. There are insufficient clinical studies to compare the effectiveness of natural products compared to approved therapeutics for the treatment of CVDs. Further long-term studies are needed to accelerate the potential of using natural products for these diseases. Despite this undoubted beneficence on CVDs, there are no strong breakthroughs supporting the implementation of natural products in clinical practice. Nevertheless, they are promising agents in the supplementation and co-therapy of CVDs.

Antihypertensive Effect of Kolaviron, a Bioflavonoid From Garcinia kola, in L-NAME Induced Hypertension in Rats

The antihypertensive effect of Kolaviron (KV) has been demonstrated in ethanol- and sucrose-model of hypertension in our previous studies. However, there remains a need to further confirm and validate this effect in other models of hypertension. This study was devised to appraise the antihypertensive action of KV in N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) induced experimental format of hypertension. Thirty-six (36) male Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups of 6 animals each. Group I represents the control group while Group II animals received L-NAME 40 mg/kg only. Groups III to V animals received L-NAME 40 mg/kg and 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg KV, respectively. Group VI animals received L-NAME 40 mg/kg and 0.14 mg/kg Lisinopril (LIS). Treatment was done orally for 28 days after which blood pressure was determined via the invasive method. After this, vital organs and blood were retrieved for analysis. KV and LIS elicited significant contraction ( P < .01-.001) in blood pressure producing up to 27%, 24%, and 22% reduction in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure, respectively. In addition, KV elicited a notable rise ( P < .05-.001) in catalase, reduced glutathione, and superoxide dismutase in the blood and vital organs. Results from this study further demonstrate and confirm that KV possesses notable blood pressure-lowering effect possibly through its well-documented antioxidant effect. Additional studies are advocated to validate the results from this study and determine the precise mechanism for the antihypertensive action of KV.

The Current State of Knowledge about the Biological Activity of Different Parts of Capers

The caper, from the Latin capra, meaning goat, is the common name for the salt-fermented floral buds of the perennial shrubs of the Capparis genus (Capparacea family). This genus is represented by about 250 species, including the very popular C. spinosa L. While the whole plant is edible, the aromatic floral buds are most widely consumed, being collected by hand prior to blooming, dried in the sun and pickled. Capers are usually served marinated in vinegar, brine or oil. They have a significant potential as dietary supplements due to their low calorie content and richness in bioactive phytochemicals. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that C. spinosa have various nutritional and biological properties, including antioxidant activity resulting from the presence of phenolic compounds. The present paper reviews the current literature concerning the biological properties of the fruits, buds, seeds, roots and leaves of C. spinosa, including their toxicity.

Knowledge about hypertension and associated factors among patients with hypertension in public health facilities of Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia: Ordinal logistic regression analysis

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is a disease that imposes risks of diseases on multi-system. Failure to control hypertension leads patients to end up with unavoidable complications, including death. Noncompliance to treatment is the main factor to develop such devastating complications whereas knowledge of patients about their disease is a key factor for better compliance. Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess the level of knowledge about hypertension and associated factors among hypertensive patients in public health facilities of Gondar city.

METHODS

Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted between March and April 2019 in Gondar town. A systematic sampling technique was applied to select a total of 389 patients. A structured interview questionnaire was used to gather the data. The data were analyzed using STATA version 14. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed at P < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval to identify statistically significant variables.

RESULTS

A total of 385 respondents participated giving a response rate of 98.9%. The majority (55.3%) of the patients had a low level of, 17.9% had a moderate level of knowledge whereas 26.8% had a high level of knowledge about hypertension. Those working in government organizations had 5.5 times higher odds of having a high level of knowledge than other groups (AOR = 5.5; 95%CI = 1.21, 25). Patients who received longer than four years of treatment showed twice larger odds of knowledge than those with below two years of treatment (AOR = 2; 95%CI = 1.29, 3.22) Moreover, patients residing proximate to the hospital increases the odds of having a higher level of knowledge by 1.64 times versus patients living far away from the hospital (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.07-2.63).

CONCLUSIONS

This finding revealed that knowledge about hypertension and risk factors among patients with hypertension was low. Employment in governmental organizations, longer duration of treatment, and residential proximity to hospitals/ health centers were statistically significant predictors of the participants' knowledge about hypertension. Therefore, it is important to give health education to patients working in non-governmental organizations and self-employed individuals about diseases and risk factors. In addition, emphasis should be given to patients receiving less than two years of treatment and coming from remote areas to improve their knowledge of the disease.